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He Is Risen
I think it was in Prehistory of the Far Side that Gary Larson explains that he meant no disrespect in making this cartoon. He was just thinking about what it would be like to wake up after being dead for a few days.
On the one hand, if we have the time, it’s good to know what’s not quite right about this cartoon. The modern English “for three days” has a connotation different from the original way of saying “on the third day,” which means Yeshua the Messiah was in the tomb for parts of three days–from late on Friday till early on Sunday, for a total of less than two full days. Traditional Christian theology teaches that G-d is omniscient, so it’s doubtful that Jesus would have to wonder what time it was. There was no coffin in the tomb. (Thanks, @clavius.) And, if we gave a full theology of the Resurrection, we’d probably have to say that Jesus doesn’t need caffeine. Since death no longer has any control over him, I don’t think he needs drugs to wake up in the morning.
I have no opinion on whether Jesus drinks coffee. I only know that he can if he wants to. And I’m pretty sure that if he drinks coffee–or tea–it’s just because he wants to.
But, on the other hand, what has Gary Larson accomplished? He took seriously the idea that Jesus died and was raised to life after a couple of days. If that were me, I imagine the first thing I’d want before tackling the rest of my immortality would be a nice cup of tea. What would you want?
In this magnificent cartoon, Gary Larson has taken seriously the idea that Jesus really did die and really was raised bodily to life on the third day. He accepted that Christian theology really means what it means. That is one of the most respectful things a non-Christian can do to a Christian.
Also, happy Easter. He is risen indeed.
Published in Religion & Philosophy
In the Apostle’s creed, “he descended into hell,” which, I imagine, might give one something to think about upon awakening. Interestingly, this is not mentioned in the Nicene Creed.
I’d want to sew up that wound in my side so the coffee doesn’t leak out and stain my tunic.
It’s also important to note that ancient peoples counted and measured time differently than we do. The disciples and Jesus’s other followers make sure to have his body down from the cross and buried before sundown, as the next day, in this case the Sabbath (Saturday), began after sundown (hearkening all the way back to Genesis 1 – “and there was evening and there was morning, the ___ day”. And the next day, Sunday, began after sundown on Saturday evening.
The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) adhere to the ancient Jewish system of counting the hours of daylight. When Mark states that Jesus was crucified beginning at “the third hour”, he doesn’t mean 3am, but approximately 9am, or three hours after sunrise. “At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour” – Mark 15:33 (approximately 12pm (six hours after sunrise) to 3pm (nine hours after sunrise) in our reckoning of time).
References to time in the Gospel of John rely on a different but contemporaneous ancient method of counting time, the Roman system. When John states that “…Pilate brought Jesus out and sat down the judge’s seat…It was the day of Preparation of the Passover Week, about the sixth hour” (John 19:13-14), he’s not disagreeing with Mark, but using the Roman method, that is more in line with our current method, i.e. the sixth hour = 6am. Evidence of this different method is also seen in the contextual understandings of when the evening is in Jewish reckoning versus Roman reckoning in the different Gospel accounts of Jesus’s first few resurrection appearances. One can find a more in depth discussion here.
Most important of all, though. A Blessed Easter – He is risen, He is risen indeed!
Interestingly enough, the wounds don’t heal but no longer bleed. But His ways are not our ways.
Instead of getting too philosophical about it, let’s just point out that nobody rioted over cartoon Jesus, storm into a newspaper office and start shooting the joint up or beheaded anyone for blasphemy.
Christians can take a joke.
From last year:
No disrespect intended to either faith . . .
Johnny Hart had many…
In Part 2 of Gary Larson’s coffee drinking Jesus, he has coffee spill from his side with Jesus looking down saying ”oops.”
If He drinks coffee I am certain it won’t be those over-roasted, over-priced beans in a venti with soy milk from Starbucks.